Pubdate: Sat, 01 Apr 2000
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright: 2000 The Orange County Register
Contact:  P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711
Fax: (714) 565-3657
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/

COLOMBIAN REBELS OPPOSE AID PACKAGE

Leftist rebels in Colombia lobbied Friday against a controversial aid 
package moving through the U.S. Congress, inviting American legislators to 
visit them in the jungle.

The rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, called for 
lawmakers to tour coca plantations and see how rural poverty underlies the 
South American country's booming cocaine trade. The statement said it would 
be more effective to legalize drugs.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $1.7 billion emergency aid 
package Thursday aimed at helping Colombia regain control of the country's 
south, where the FARC taxes drug traffickers and peasants who grow coca 
plants. The Senate must still consider the plan.
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